Arcing contacts are used in a wide range of electro technical applications such as circuit breakers, generator breakers, contactors, power interrupters, disconnectors, relays, vacuum interrupters, fuses, current limiters or selector switches.
In this description and subsequent claims arcing contacts refers to a contact element opening up or closing an electrical circuit under the formation of electrical arcs.
An ideal material for an arcing contact must be able to sustain a number of different physical phenomena, such as thermal shock, arc erosion/melting, welding, wear and corrosion.
In the present technology arcing contacts are, for example, made of metal-matrix composite materials composed of a high-conductivity metal such as Ag or Cu, in combination with a metal, such as W or Ni, or a ceramic with high melting point and/or hardening effect, for example SnO2, WC, or graphitic carbon. Such materials are often expensive, and are not easy to optimize with regard to thermal shock, arc erosion/melting, welding, wear and corrosion.
Therefore, there is a need for a contact element for an arcing contact, the contact element comprising a contact material which is cheaper and that is easier to optimize with regard to, for example, thermal shock, arc erosion/melting, welding, wear and corrosion, compared to conventional materials for arcing contacts.